Watch the Elite and Under 23 Women’s Race live broadcast on SBS from 10.30am AEDT, or catch up with the post-race highlights and replay on SBS On Demand.
An Elite Women’s Road Race national title is a prestigious entry on the palmares of any Australian cyclist, with greats of the sport over the years taking home the title with some memorable rides.
The Under 23 women’s title is the race within the race, an often tense battle between the younger riders in the peloton to work within the elite women’s peloton and finish ahead of their rivals for the category.
The Course
The 104.4km course takes in 9 Laps of the Mt Buninyong circuit, a course that has mostly produced wins for solo riders and small groups that form over the top of Mt Buninyong.
You have to be able to climb really well, and often the winners are the professionals who journey back to Australia for the summer of cycling, or are some of the best up-and-coming talent on the domestic scene.
The Mt Buninyong course is well-known within the Australian cycling community, a three-kilometre climb that has ramps of up to 10 per cent, but is mostly difficult due to the repeated efforts round and round the course over the race.
Mt Buninyong Road Race Course
The wind is set to be a light northly for much of the race, which will be a cross-wind for the early section of the climb and cross-headwind for the second. Where it may have the greatest effect is over the top of the climb on Yankee Flat Rd, when attackers are trying to consolidate their lead into a block headwind.
The day will be a hot one, with temperatures in the mid 30s, but the women will avoid the worst of the sun, and often a bigger problem is the cold at the start of the event.
The Contenders
It's a new order in the women's road race, with the full transition from the regular leaders of the Australian WorldTour team Jayco-AlUla moving on to new teams, while new top riders emerge for Gerry Ryan's squad. Whether they can match up to stars of yesteryear is to be seen and is the central question of the race.
Amanda Spratt (Trek-Segafredo) is the most successful rider at the nationals road race in recent history with three wins, the first coming back in 2012. ‘Spratty’ is in new colours for the first time in over a decade, switching across to Trek-Segafredo from Jayco-AlUla, though she won’t be short of help in the road race, with Brodie Chapman and Lauretta Hanson joining her on the startline to form a formidable trio of talent.
Spratt had an understandably drawn out comeback from an operation to correct her illiac artery endofibrosis during 2022 and just when it appeared that she was back to more or less her old self, she suffered a succession of crashes at key races. She was flying around the course at the Bay Crits, proving to everyone that she means business this summer and she’s been taking Strava climb segments for fun in recent weeks.
There are also a lot of positive indications around Chapman’s form, and the aggressive Chapman could be the perfect foil for Spratt if they can work together in their new team, with Hanson a great teammate to work with the more fancied contenders.
Jayco-AlUla had a great night out at the criteriums, going 1-2 in both the women’s and the men’s races. Amber Pate surprised everyone, even herself, with the last lap flyer to take the victory, with Alex Manly mopping up the sprint to take second. Any of the Australian WorldTour squad’s riders could be in contention for the victory, especially if they can put themselves in a situation that allows them to play the other teams off against each other.
Manly is probably the top candidate for the win with her all-round skills and the breakout form that she showed last year in the WorldTour. While she’s not the most dynamic climber in the field, world-class riders found it very hard to shake the dogged Manly throughout 2022, and it’s hard to see her not able to follow most of the riders here. If she can do that, she has the sprint to finish it off and the tactical nous to make the right decisions on the road.
Ruby Roseman-Gannon is in a similar boat to Manly, though probably a bit more weighted towards sprinting and less experienced than her teammate. Her immediate aptitude for classics racing in 2022 shows that she’s certainly tough enough to fight through the hard parts of racing, and she’s been one of the best in the Australian summers of recent years.
Pate, Alyssa Polites and Georgie Howe are all in their neo-pro seasons and could have a shot at the win, but their best chance looks to be from a favourable breakaway. All have impressed across the course of recent seasons domestically, they’ll likely be utilised either in that breakaway populating role or as teammates for their sprinters, with the experienced Jessica Allen also in that role.
Georgia Baker took the interesting decision to miss the crit, which normally would indicate that she’s all-in for the road race, but the course around Mt Buninyong hasn’t suited her in the past.
Grace Brown (FDJ Suez Futuroscope) has come very close to taking the national championships win, she’s been on the podium four of the last five years and appears near-perfectly suited for the punchy course. She’s been Australia’s best rider in recent years, animating races with her trademark powerful attacks and solid sprints from small groups. That’s the perfect recipe for a national champion on this course, it hasn’t quite come together yet on the day for Brown, but there’s no reason that this can’t be her year.
Danielle De Francesco (Zaaf) might be an outsider for some, but she’s going right in the favourites list here. The National Road Series winner was in stellar form all throughout last year and looks to have gone to a new level since moving over permanently into cycling from triathlon, with her background even further in the past in long-distance swimming.
In terms of recent form, she put in a number of strong attacks throughout the Bay Crits, without the punch necessary to take the sprint wins over the fast women present. She looks in fine form, and she was being marked out the longer the Bay Crits went on, so her condition is clearly impressing others as well.
She’s not a bad sprinter, but likely not the best here, and certainly she’ll want to get clear of Roseman-Gannon and Manly, so she may form an impromptu alliance with the likes of Spratt, Chapman or Brown.
Roxsolt Liv SRAM will be hoping to make some waves with their results, and their best candidate is probably Justine Barrow, who podiumed back in 2020. She’s a brilliant climber, still one of the best in the peloton. Former winner Peta Mullens joins Chloe Hosking and criterium bronze medallist Tilly Field to complete the team list, all are really strong, and Mullens and Hosking’s smarts could net them a result.
There are a number of other contenders who could be standing on the podium in triumph, with Matilda Raynolds (Black Sheep Cycling), Lucie Fityus (Cycling Development Foundation), Emily Watts (Team Bridgelane) and the ever-present Ruth Corset some riders who could surprise if given some leeway.
The Under 23s is a tricky race to follow, as the riders are often content to pragmatically follow the elite riders wheels and not waste too much energy against their rivals. Under 23 Criterium winner Lucy Stewart (ARA Skip Capital) looks in fine form at present and has a strong team around her, with first year Under 23 Isabelle Carnes also regarded as one of Australia’s best young talents at present. Mia Hayden (Team Bridgelane), Darcie Richards and Ella Sibley (Knights of Suburbia) are all challengers for that U23 title.
Watch the Elite and Under 23 women’s live broadcast on SBS from 10.30pm AEDT, or catch up with the post-race highlights and replay on SBS On Demand.
